Dive the Galapagos

Diving in the Galapagos Islands

The Galapagos Islands lie nearly 1000 kilometers east of the mainland of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean. Visited in 1835 and made famous by Charles Darwin, the archipelago consists of 19 volcanic islands, originally uninhabited by human beings. They are noted for the fearlessness of the animals that have never experienced human predation, and of course for their unique characteristics that led Darwin to develop the theory of evolution.

The Galapagos Islands boast many fine dive spots with a huge variety of species of marine life. Due to the crossing of the El Niño and Humboldt currents in the open ocean the diving can be very demanding, with some dives only reserved for experienced divers. But for the less experienced diver there are still many good options to choose!

Featured Creatures: Whale Sharks. It is also possible to see large groups of hammerhead sharks and endemic Galapagos sharks at this Wolf Island dive site. The only way to access this site, though, is by taking part in a Liveaboard expedition. Also, due to the strong currents, limited visibility, and harsh surges, this site is reserved only for experienced divers.

Recommended level: advanced
Because of limited visibility, strong current and occasional harsh surges, Shark Point is usually limited to experienced divers only.

Gordon Rocks

Gordon Rocks, Santa Cruz Island

Featured Creatures: Hammerhead Sharks
Strong currents bring dozens of these predators into a relatively confined area, making this a great place to get up close and personal with the sharks. Gordon Rocks is an volcanic crater with a maximum depth of 32 meters where you will find a sandy bottom.

Recommended level: intermediate to advanced
Gordon Rocks is referred to as a ‘washing machine’, due to its currents and structure, so it’s very important to be careful when diving in the area.

Camaño Islet

Camaño Islet, Santa Cruz Island

Featured Creatures: Seahorses, Sea Lions, Batfish and Groupers
This is a great spot for beginners who want to see groupers, batfish, seahorses, sea lions, and more. This shallow dive offers great visibility, at 10-15 meters, or 33-49 feet. You may get lucky and see some eels and Galapagos marine iguanas which dive beneath the waves in search of their food.

Recommended level: beginner

Punta Vicente Roca

Punta Vicente Roca, Isabela Island

Featured Creatures: Mola Mola.
While the wall is covered in invertebrates ranging from frogfish to seahorses, the real attraction are the sunfish.

Recommended level: intermediate

North Seymour Ocean Side

North Seymour, Seymour Island

Featured Creatures: Eagle Rays and Blue-Footed Boobies.
The gradual rocky slope that extends from Seymour Island’s northeastern shore provides habitat for yellowtail grunts, bluestriped snapper and salemas. You can also see groups of eagle rays, marble rays, manta rays, stingrays, jacks, hammerheads and, on a good dive, marlins.

Recommended level: beginner

Cousins Rock

Cousins Rock, Santiago Island

Featured Creatures: Pacific Seahorse, White-Tipped Reef Sharks and Sea Turtles
The steps are covered in black corals, which make an excellent habitat for the Pacific Seahorse. Under the overhangs created by the “steps,” white-tipped reef sharks, sea turtles and moray eels hang out. Schools of barracuda curiously watch the glint of the scuba tanks, and manta rays and hammerheads are occasionally spotted in the blue.

Recommended level: intermediate

Roca Redonda

Roca Redonda

Featured Creatures: Nudibranchs and Galapagos Sharks

Recommended level: advanced

Bartholomew Point

Bartholomew Point

Featured Creatures: Galapagos Penguins and White-Tipped Reef Sharks +
Bait balls are sometimes seen in the area. These attract Galapagos penguins (the only penguin found north of the Equator), sea lions, pelagic fish, white-tipped reef sharks and a variety of rays. When you’re not in the middle of a bait ball, you might also see sea turtles, a variety of reef fish, manta rays and curious hammerheads in the blue.

Recommended level: intermediate to advanced

Kicker Rock

Kicker Rock, San Cristobal Island

Featured Creatures: Marine Iguanas and Sea Lions.
Diving down between the two rocks, you can see sea turtles, large rays, wrasse, surgeon fish, angelfish, Galapagos sharks and even hammerheads in deeper waters. Marine iguanas also hunt in the area, so keep your eyes open for one diving past.

Recommended level: beginner

Tijeretas Hill

Tijeretas Hill, San Cristobal Island

This wall dive features green sea turtles, Galapagos garden eels, rays, and great schools of fish, including angelfish and grunts. The best part of this dive, though, is being able to swim with the playful Sea Lions, who are attracted by the bubbles you make.

It offers great visibility, and it’s also a perfect dive site even for beginners.

Daphne Minor

Daphne Minor, Santa Cruz Island

This dive is a wall dive with a smooth current. You will love exploring the caverns, walls, and slopes at this awesome Galapagos dive site, which features stunning marine life including Juvenile Galapagos sharks, white-tipped reef sharks, and eagle rays are also common. Keep an eye on the big blue as Manta Rays love to visit Daphne too.

Daphne Minor is suitable for beginners and more experienced divers.

Whale Rock

Whale Rock, San Cristobal Island

This site features huge schools of fish, with plenty of rays and sea turtles swimming along as well. Visibility is often great and typically ranges anywhere from 10-15 meters, or 33-49 feet, and temperatures are anywhere from 18-26 degrees Celsius, or 64-78 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cape Marshall

Cape Marshall, Isabela Island

Located on the island of Isabela, Cape Marshall features a wall of volcanic rock that goes down into the depths of the ocean. Sunfish a.k.a “Mola Mola”, Hammerhead sharks, Manta rays, Marbled Rays, Mobula rays, and large schools of fish such as Black-striped salema can be found here.
Sea turtles and Sea Lions will have no problem swimming alongside you as you explore this epic Galapagos dive site.

This site is for experienced and more advanced scuba divers only due to its strong currents.

Tortuga Island

Tortuga Island, near Isabela Island

Here, you will find a variety of native species, including Galapagos sharks, Galapagos sheep head, and Galapagos Groupers, as well as many Mantas, Stingrays, Sunfish, and more. You may even get the chance to see Hammerhead sharks and White-tipped reef sharks. But if you’re truly lucky, you may be diving at the right place at the right time to see a passing Orca.

This Galapagos dive site, located off Isabela Island, is great for intermediate level divers who aren’t afraid of following a deep drift wall down to the depths of 40 meters, or 131 feet.

Santa Fe Island

Santa Fe Island

This Galapagos dive site is one that is appropriate for beginners, thanks to its calm and clear waters. At a depth of 16 meters, you can find a cave that makes this easy dive quite interesting. Expect to be accompanied by playful Sea Lions, Turtles, Eels, and even some White tip reef sharks

Even though the archipelago is located on the equator, the weather is not tropical. With temperatures that range from 21 to 30 degrees Celsius, it offers good weather for visiting the islands all year round. In the Galapagos there are two seasons: dry season and warm season.
From June to December, the southern trade winds bring the colder Humboldt Current north to the Galapagos, which introduces the Galapagos dry season. During this season the water is cooler, which makes the water clearer for those who love to dive. In the sea and around the islands there are large numbers of different species during the dry season, namely: giant tortoises, humpback whales, blue-footed boobies, cormorants, oyster catchers, lava lizards, Galapagos hawks, masked boobies, swallow-tailed gulls, sea lions, lava herons, brown noddies, and penguins.
The Galapagos warm season takes place from December to May. During this season the climate is more tropical. On land and ocean temperatures are very pleasant, which creates the perfect opportunity for swimmers and snorkelers to get into the water. Because the weather is warmer, clouds often cover the sky and daily rain may occur. The animal species flourishing during this season are marine iguanas, sea turtle, land iguanas, flamingos, white-cheeked pintails, masked boobies, albatross, and blue-footed boobies.

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True Ecuador Travel grew out of Yanapuma Foundation and Spanish School. As a social enterprise, self-funding part of the non-profit work that we have carried out since 2006.

We set up True Ecuador Travel as a travel agency and a limited company in Ecuador to be able to offer all the reliability and guarantees that our students and visitors require to make the most out of their time in Ecuador.